Retail News CRM

Tag: Scotts Square

  • Buro 24/7 pops up in Singapore

    Buro 24/7 pops up in Singapore

    Buro 24/7 has popped up in Scotts Square…. for six months.

    The Buro 24/7 Singapore pop up store is the second in the city for the international brand, opening five months after an earlier one at Clifford Pier.

    Whether a store with a life span of six months qualifies for being termed a ‘pop up’ might be a moot point for some, but Inside Retail Singapore is prepared to accept the brand’s own definition!

    Buro 24/7 Singapore is essentially a news website promising “unparalleled coverage and access to the world of fashion and contemporary culture told through an Asian lens”. It has a contemporary feel, heavily influenced by the needs of the modern social media driven generation and a concept with similarities to the successful Monocle concept which also merges publishing with curated product collections, retail stores and pop ups.

    Founded by ‘style maven and digital powerhouse Miroslava Duma’, Singapore was the first country in Asia to join the Buro 24/7 family and the eighth edition of the site internationally, which now numbers 10. The others are in Russia, Croatia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Middle East, Australia, Malaysia and Mongolia.

    Buro 27/7 describes its new pop up as “a retail space, office and production studio” right in the heart of Orchard Rd.

    “For the next six months, our pop up store will couple online content with retail exposure and play host to upcoming designers, private previews, as well as photo shoots and workshops.”

    The concept is currently hosting a Boss fashion installation, featuring Boss Womenswear outfits as featured in a Buro 24/7 photo shoot with Anita Kapoor.

    Guests at the recent opening party were given a $50 Boss voucher when they took an Instagram photo with the BossS Bespoke bag and tagged it with #BuroLovesBoss.

    The Buro 24/7 pop up store is open daily from 10am to 10pm.

  • Scotts Square Singapore mall ‘exodus’

    Scotts Square Singapore mall ‘exodus’

    Just three years after its opening, questions are being asked about the business model of Wheelock Properties’ luxury Scotts Square Singapore shopping centre.

    The compact but glitzy mall opened in 2012 on the site of the demolished Scotts Shopping Centre. It sits off Orchard Rd, between Tangs department store and the Grand Hyatt five-star hotel.

    This week, at least 10 tenancies were vacant, leaving 28 open in the 75,000sqft mall, according to a report in the Straits Times newspaper.

    Luxury watch store Sincere Fine Watches has moved out of its street-front space on the first and second floor, joining Ginza Sushi Ichi and Arossa Wine & Grill, which shut their doors on Jan 31. Apparel chain Bread & Butter and Malaysian cafe Delicious had already moved out. Anne Fontaine, Kiton and Marina Rinaldi will move out this month in what the newspaper described as “an exodus”.

    Wheelock Properties group GM of marketing Stephanie Tay, was trying to put a positive spin on the move, saying some current tenants were due to renew or complete their leasing term. “This gives us the opportunity to tweak our tenant mix and refresh our offerings,” she told the Straits Times.

    However her employer had already publicly conceded the centre was failing to perform. Late last month, Wheelock Properties announced it had written down the book value of the mall by 17 per cent to reflect “poor business conditions” – from S$312 million to $260 million.

    “Scotts Square is operating under very challenging circumstances as a boutique mall,” the listed company said in a stock exchange announcement. “A substantial tenant and trade mix revamp is underway for the mall and reduction of rental revenue is expected for the initial years,” it said.

    The company maintained that at the end of December – before the trickle of exits became an exodus – Scotts Square had an overall occupancy rate of 88 per cent and an average monthly rental of S$16 per square foot.

    The Straits Times quoted a sales assistant at fashion brand Paul & Shark describing the mall as “quite empty”.

    “We get maybe 20 walk-ins a day, but we can sell to about five.”

    Scotts Square Singapore comprises three levels of retailing and a FairPrice Finest supermarket in the basement, largely serving the residents of the 43 storey apartment tower above it.

    The mall’s undoing would appear to be the market positioning of its offer. With neighbouring shopping centres catering for mid-range shoppers – and the largest on Scott Rd best described as an entry level destination – there simply isn’t the foot traffic for a mall with lesser known luxury brand tenants.

    The survivors – for now – include US fashion brand Michael Kors, shoe chain On Pedder and Wild Honey, a restaurant.